just five weeks after my doubts (and my post here) this news confirms ALL my suspects about the """Google""" Lunar X Prize correctness...

so (clearly) ALL other GLXP teams are (definitely) only the Odyssey Moon's "sparring partners"

just remember that Google has several agreements with NASA and (also) has rented (for long time) a NASA building and the space to build another in two NASA space centers!

this kind of join venture means that Google (or a small and, maybe, also non-american, GLXP team) CAN'T "compete" with NASA in the lunar exploration, landing a rover on the Moon BEFORE the US space agency and WITHOUT its logo!!! ...as I've already predicted (in my ghostNASA articles and with several space forums' posts) over one year ago...

the REAL value of the GIANT advantage Odyssey Moon will have, ISN'T the use of NASA hardware, materials, instruments, test machines, etc. but the FREE NASA's KNOW-HOW (that is PRICELESS)

if (e.g.) they'll use $2M of NASA "things" and pay a $2M "remboursement", it will never be the right price for the REAL value of the know-how they'll receive developing its lunar rover in the SAME labs, with the SAME tools and side-by-side with the SAME engineers that have developed the Sojurner, Spirit, Opportunity, Cassini, Phoenix, etc. !!!

the US government have paid hundreds billion$$$ over the last 50 years to "build" the NASA's know-how about spacecrafts, spaceflights, space probes, Mars rovers, landers, procedures, materials, software, etc.

and now, NASA will give away its valuable know-how to Odyssey Moon (and ONLY to Odyssey Moon) FOR FREE

it's a $500+ million GIFT that Odyssey Moon NEVER can pay!!!

surely, Odyssey Moon can't "pay" the NASA's know-how just "reimbursing" the nuts and bolts (or the electricity...) they'll use developing its rover in the NASA space centers!!!

it's really incredible that no one of the other GLXP sparring-partners/teams did not PROTEST for the GALACTIC advantage that NASA and Google are giving to Odyssey "The Chosen" Moon, or (at least) ask them to have the SAME advantages, develop their rovers in the SAME space centers and use the SAME know-how the NASA engineers may/will give to Odyssey "The Chosen" Moon!!!

last, I've read in a comment to this news, that, also the GLXP rules prohibits to all these "independent" teams to receive any kind of help (money and/or know-how) from government agencies!

"The MoonOne lander will be adapted from a nifty bit of hardware being cultivated at NASA Ames - the Common Spacecraft Bus. Iâ€™ve seen this equipment myself - and a dedicated team at Ames has been working diligently on this multi-purpose gear, all made possible by Ames leader, Pete Worden."

an euphemism to say that Odyssey Moon has 99% of chances to win the prize thanks to Google support, lots of money, NASA engineers inside it and the Odyssey/NASA agreement to use the Ames center know-how and hardware!!!

now the other GLXP teams have nearly ZERO chances to win, since, thanks to NASA help, Odyssey Moon will be able to land a rover on the moon when all other teams will still be at the RC-cars model level... a really "honest" and "fair" competition... like Google...

Quote:

NASA gets to test some of their kit rather than letting it collect dust before coming obsolete and being scraped, always good for tax dollars.

it "would" be a good news if the same know-how and hardware (a several billion$ value!) will be given FOR FREE to ALL lunar prize teams and ALL companies that want to launch a luanar rover...

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other government space agencies will aid other teams and create competition at higher levels and national pride might add another dimension to the competition

a TRUE"private companies prize" should NOT have any financial and/or know-how help from space agencies, aerospace companies and governments!!!

also, I doubt that countries like China or India or Japan (that can accoplish that mission with their own technology) will ever join the GLXP or help the US teams to win the prize